USING VOICE THREAD TO GIVE INDIVIDUALIZED FEEDBACK IN TEACHING SPEAKING
*Wildan Mahir Muttaqin
Abstract:
Giving individual feedback in teaching speaking
is very important to improve learners’ fluency and accuracy. This research talks
about how speaking becomes more authentic if learners are motivated, involved
in negotiation of meaning, and participating in genuine interaction. This
research also talks about the need for individualized feedback. Voicethreads
promote multiple learning styles. Due to all these, use Voicethreads in the ESL
classroom can help learners create a greater level of success in school.
Keywords: Voicethreads, Speaking, Learning
Introduction
The importance of technology in teaching language
Information
and communication technologies (ICT) have become significant for social and
economic development and increasingly important in education. As educators, we
are faced with selecting and using appropriate technologies from an
ever-increasing range. We understand that technologies have the capacity to
transform our teaching and our learners’ learning. Different technologies can
change the ways our learners learn and mediate the learning differently. We
seek to make use of technologies integral to the whole language learning
process and not as an add-on to teaching or a replacement for teaching. When we
do this, our pedagogies engage learners, enhance achievement, create new
learning possibilities and extend interaction with local and global
communities.
Many
teachers believed that the productive use of ICT presents a challenge in our
teaching practice. Learners are usually very engaged with technology and have
developed expertise outside the classroom which the teacher may not have. This
expertise can, however, be constructed as a resource upon which the teacher can
draw, while scaffolding the linguistic and cultural dimensions of the learners’
engagement with language and culture through technology. We know that these
technologies have a transformative role in languages education and our stance
as languages educators must encompass them.
The role
of teachers in using technology is very important; one of them is to ensure
that the use of technologies adds value to the intended learning. With sound
educational direction, technologies support conceptual learning and enable the
construction and creation of knowledge. Teachers can use technologies to
achieve this by requiring learners to choose activities, applications and modes
of communication and selecting and using learning objects to create learning
tasks and sequences.
Technologies
help to build learning communities by enabling teachers and learners to join
online collaborative projects and connecting with other learners, teachers and
experts. For language teaching, information technologies provide access to a
vast range of contemporary material in the target language and about target
language communities. This material makes the target language and target
language communities available both in and out of class and therefore much more
present in learners’ lives. Communication technologies allow for direct
participation in the target language culture in a range of ways and with a
range of different levels of engagement. They also allow learners to pursue
their own interest and agendas in the target language community outside the
classroom. Learner collaboration and group work are now common in higher
education. In part, this is for pedagogic reasons drawing on the work of people
such as Vygotsky (1978) who argued that learning is a social process and that
people who are provided with opportunities to learn together and discuss their
ideas can ‘scaffold’ each other’s learning. Through
interactive talk, ongoing dialogue, rich, formative questioning, and careful
listening and reading, teachers constantly judge what kinds of scaffolds are
appropriate and how much scaffolding is appropriate for individual learners.
About web 2.0 tools
Digital
tools provide very effective facilitation of collaborative learning. It is now
very easy for teachers to set up collaborative online spaces and activities and
this means that teachers are more likely to make use of these tools. One of the
biggest technology-based changes in higher education has been a shift towards
more collaborative working for learners. Digital technologies do not only
create new environments in which language use occurs, they also bring together
interlocutors who might not otherwise have opportunity to interact.
The
terms web 2.0 as Walker and White (2013:19) explains is a term commonly used
for websites that consist entirely for user contributions (and users can be
anybody, not just those with authority or status conferred on them in the
‘real’ world). A web 2.0 site allows users to interact and collaborate with
each other, as creator of user-generated content in a virtual community. Examples
of the tools include video upload sites, such as YouTube; social networks, such
as facebook; wikis, such as Wikipedia; group audio blog, such as VoiceThread;
and many other resources.
The
difference between these and web 1.0 sites is that there is no owning authority
who posts editorial material, and they are entirely dependent for their
existence on user contributions.
Integrating technology in teaching
speaking
Second language speaking skills
Goh and Burns
(2012: 49-66) in Walker and White (2013:37) point out that L2 speakers need to
combine knowledge about the target language with an ability to use it
effectively. They refer to the notions of communicative competence: competent
speakers should have the ability to produce accurate language which is easy for
listeners to process and which is appropriate to the context. They describe
four ‘core’ categories of speaking skills which we have paraphrased in the
table below:
|
Core skill
|
Examples
|
|
pronunciation
|
Pronouncing vowels,
consonants, and blended sounds clearly
Using different
intonation patterns to communicate old and new information
|
|
Performing speech acts
|
Knowing how to make
request
Knowing how to give
opinions
|
|
Managing interaction
|
Initiating, maintaining,
and ending conversations
Turn taking
Clarifying meaning
|
|
Organizing discourse
|
Using discourse markers
and intonation to signpost changes of topic
Being able to structure
discourse for different communicative purposes such as stories or
instructions
|
Posting materials online
In
teaching language skills especially for speaking, teacher can bring the
technology and integrate it to teaching speaking. Many teachers using
technology have anecdotal evidence of their learners being motivated and
engaged, and this is a major reason for using learning technology. There is
also evidence that the use of technological tools empowers learners to
transcend the traditional concept of the classroom and can lead to learners
taking greater ownership of their learning especially through being actively
involved together outside the classroom. Teachers who are already comfortable
with learner-centered approaches and communicative principles of language
learning seem to be the most successful in using and integrating technology
into their classroom teaching as Wong and Benson (2006) found. Most instructors like to think of themselves as
innovators. Social media can help them to bring possibility of ‘pulling’
knowledge from learners who can share original thoughts to the discussion.
Speaking practice in a virtual space
In online classroom, learners can talk to each other
at a distance using audio and video, so this is deal if teachers want to twin
their class with one elsewhere in the world. The online classroom lends itself
to discussions on particular topics, presentations by groups of learners,
problem solving activities, communication gap-tasks, and so on; in short all
the activities teachers might do in ‘a traditional classroom’. The added bonus
is that learners are being exposed to different accents, and because they are
conversing with people who are not as familiar as their classmates, it is
likely that there will be a greater pressure to use the shared target language
rather than lapsing into a shared first language. As they are speaking to
unfamiliar people at a distance, and have not had the opportunity to totally
prepare and rehearse, what they are going to say, they are more likely to make
use of the cognitive and interaction strategies. Online classroom also have a
facility for recording the class so that the learners can replay and watch or
listen to it again.
Teaching
with VT
Communicate and Collaborate
One of
the best free tools available to teachers and learners who are learning with
the world rather than about the world is Voicethread (VT). As
in http://voicethread.com,
it is one of many Web 2.0 tools created to help users communicate and
collaborate around a variety of topics. VT makes learners come alive because
they are given a platform to express their thoughts. Known as a “group audio blog,” VT
allows users to record text and audio comments about uploaded images. It has two distinct advantages for classrooms
that are communicating and collaborating across counties, countries or
continents:
- Voicethread is
Asynchronous: That
means users can work on and enjoy Voicethread presentations at any
time--even if their "partners" are sleeping a million miles
away!
- Voicethread is
Engaging: Let's face
it--sometimes working with digital partners can be pretty boring.
After all, email and discussion boards are nothing more than written
text. Voicethread gives users something interesting to talk
about---pictures! What's more, being able to actually hear one another
makes digital communication through Voicethread much more personal.
Voicethread as motivating tool
There is
no doubt that Voicethread has the potential to be one of the most motivating
tools that you use to facilitate instruction in your classroom this year. Middle
grades learners are intrinsically drawn to conversations with peers, so
structuring opportunities for collaborative dialogue around classroom content
is a logical decision!
Innovative
technological tools, programs, and software can be used to promote student
engagement, motivation, and ultimately enhance the quality of the learning
experience for all students (Stein Brunvand and Sara Byrd, 2011).
VoiceThread
environment as part of a whole class, in small groups, or independently. Since
the tool is web based, it can be accessed in a classroom, computer lab, at
home, or anywhere else an Internet-enabled computer can be found. In addition,
VoiceThread serves as an archive where comments, conversations, and images are
stored and made available for access at a later time. Students can revisit
topics as needed or gain access to learning activities they may have missed.
Finally, the technical skills required by Voice- Thread are the same regardless
of the learning activity, content area, or grade level. Once students learn how
to use VoiceThread, they are able to use this technology over and over again
for a wide range of purposes. Because of the flexibility of the tool, and the
ability to use it across grade levels, content areas, and with a multitude of learners,
the time and effort invested to learn VoiceThread can pay great dividends in
student learning.
As a teacher, we need to consider some
experiences to make our Voicethread, the most meaningful. They are
1.
Allowing learners to draft comments in groups of 2 or
3: After you introduce new Voicethread
presentations, it is always helpful to give learners time to work in small
groups to brainstorm and draft initial comments together. This ensures that the first comments added to
your thread will be well thought out and aligned with the directions you’ve
given for the assignment. What’s more,
this ensures that all learners will have a comment in a presentation to follow
and increasing their interest.
2.
Joining in the conversation:
In the early stages of your work with Voicethread, it is important to
join in the conversations with your learners!
By doing so, you’ll be able to model the kinds of comments that are
productive and valuable. Be sure to use
proper grammar and spelling—and to elaborate on your thinking. Also, be sure to find ways to respond to
other learners and to ask lots of questions.
Those
are the skills that make for high quality Voicethread presentations—but they
won’t come naturally to most middle schoolers.
Seeing examples from you will help learners to learn more about quality
additions to digital conversations.
3.
Highlighting comments in class:
After starting a Voicethread presentation, it is important to revisit
the conversation occasionally in class in order to keep the project in the
forefront of your learners’ minds.
Browsing and selecting “Spotlight Comments” a few times a week will
provide learners with examples of high quality work to model their own posts
after.
Be sure
to spotlight different kinds of comments to your learners—especially those
where learners are reading and responding to one another.
Also, be
sure to spotlight comments that don’t add to conversations—while this obviously
has to be done gently so as not to hurt the feelings of your learners, it is
important for classes to begin to recognize that “throw-away” comments are not
valued in digital conversations.
Giving feedback using VT in
teaching speaking
Principles of Giving
Feedback
Feedback is defined by Wood (2007) as ‘the way in which learners become aware of
the gap between their current level of knowledge or skill and the desired goal’
Brown and Glasner (1999) in Wood: (2007) suggest that we may wish to
assess learner learning in order to
• Provide feedback to learners.
• Give teachers feedback on how effective we are at promoting learning.
Huba and Freed (2000) describe some intentions of ‘‘learner-centered
assessment’’, one of them is Learner-centered assessment provides prompt
feedback to learners.
Giving feedback to respond
learners’ comments
The best Voicethreads are truly interactive—with users listening and
responding to one another. They are
super interesting digital conversations!
Highly accomplished Voicethreaders are constantly thinking while
interacting with a VT presentation. It
also invites an unstructured and open-ended expression that is not possible in
either a face-to-face or a traditional online classroom. It could be used to
facilitate small-talk activities and to give feedback to each student’s
comment. Teaching of speaking using VT is easy and able
to cope in an authentic communicative situation both in verbal and non verbal. They come to the conversation with an open
mind, willing to reconsider their own positions—and willing to challenge the
notions of others. Voicethreading
requires users to develop the skills that active thinkers bring to any learning
experience. The following is one of the
examples of task made by teacher for Intermediate level:
To be an active Voicethreader, start by carefully working your way
through a presentation. While viewing
pictures and listening to the comments that have been added by other users, you
should:
- Gather
Facts: Jot down things that are interesting and
new to you
- Make
Connections: Relate and compare things you are
viewing and hearing to things that you already know.
- Ask
Questions: What about the comments and presentation
is confusing to you? What don’t you
understand? How will you find the
answer? Remember that there will
ALWAYS be questions in an active thinker’s mind!
- Give
Opinions: Make judgments about what you are
viewing and hearing. Do you
agree? Do you disagree? Like?
Dislike? Do you support or
oppose anything that you have heard or seen? Why?
Use the following sentence starters to shape your thoughts and comments
while viewing or participating in Voicethread presentations. Comments based on these kinds of statements
make Voicethreads interactive and engaging.
-
In my opinion
-
I don’t think that…
-
This reminds me of…
-
I realized…
-
I’m surprised that…
-
This is similar to…
-
I wonder…
-
If I were ________, I would
______________
-
If __________ then ___________
-
I noticed…
-
I’d like to know…
-
Although it seems…
-
I’m not sure that…
While commenting, try to respond directly to other viewers. Begin by quoting some part of the comment
that you are responding to help other listeners know what it is that has caught
your attention. Then, explain your own
thinking in a few short sentences.
Elaboration is important when you’re trying to make a point. Finally, finish your comment with a question
that other listeners can reply to.
Questions help to keep digital conversations going!
When responding to another viewer, don’t be afraid to disagree with
something that they have said.
Challenging the thinking of another viewer will help them to reconsider
their own thinking—and will force you to be able to explain yours! Just be sure to disagree agreeably—impolite
people are rarely influential.
If your thinking gets challenged by another viewer in a Voicethread,
don’t be offended. Listen to your peers,
consider their positions and decide whether or not you agree with them. You might discover that they’ve got good
ideas you hadn’t thought about. Either
way, be sure to respond—let your challengers know how their ideas have
influenced you.
Assessing learners’
comments
Holistic rubric
|
Excellent (A)
86 - 100
|
Good (B)
71 - 85
|
Fair (C)
51 - 70
|
Poor (D)
20 - 50
|
|
• Uses a variety of vocabulary
and expressions
• Uses a variety of structures
with only occasional grammatical errors
• Speaks smoothly, with little
hesitation that does not interfere with communication
• Stays on task and
communicates effectively; almost always responds appropriately and always
tries to develop the interaction
• Pronunciation and intonation
are almost always very clear/accurate
|
• Uses a variety of vocabulary
and expressions, but makes some errors in word choice
• Uses a variety of grammar
structures, but makes some errors
• Speaks with some hesitation,
but it does not usually interfere with communication
• Stays on task most of the
time and communicates effectively; generally responds appropriately and keeps
trying to develops the interaction
• Pronunciation and intonation
are usually clear/accurate with a few problem areas
|
• Uses limited vocabulary and
expressions
• Uses a variety of structures
with frequent errors, or uses basic structures with only occasional errors
• Speaks with some hesitation,
which often interferes with communication
• Tries to communicate, but
sometimes does not respond appropriately or clearly
• Pronunciation and intonation
errors sometimes make it difficult to understand the learner
|
• Uses only basic vocabulary
and expressions
• Uses basic structures, makes
frequent errors
• Hesitates too often when
speaking, which often interferes with communication
• Purpose isn’t clear; needs a
lot of help communicating; usually does not respond appropriately or clearly
• Frequent problems with
pronunciation and intonation
|
Summary
VoiceThread enables
teachers to capitalize on students’ active participation in the learning process.
Students who are often considered passive learners can become more actively
involved through an ongoing interaction with the instructional content as well
as their peers, and this active involvement can contribute
to increased learning success (Lerner &
Johns, 2009). Using VoiceThread, students may
receive instructional “input” through auditory
means (e.g., use of teacher recorded messages or peer recorded messages) and
through visual means (e.g., reading text on the screen and looking at pictures/graphics,
photographs, images, and video clips). Similarly, student output could include
verbal expression (i.e., students record their responses/interactions) or
written expression (i.e., students type their responses). Teachers can
differentiate the learning experience for students by structuring the use of
these input/ output modalities to best meet the needs of the learner.
Maintaining focus and
attention, actively participating in the learning process and being motivated
to carry an academic task through to completion are all areas where at-risk learners
and learners with disabilities might struggle. It provides a guided learning
environment where learners can participate in ways that are conducive to their
individual learning styles
References
Driscoll, A. and S.Wood. 2007. Developing
outcomes-based assessment for learner-centered education : a faculty
introduction. Virginia: Stylus Publishing.
Lerner, J., & Johns, B. (2009). Learning
disabilities and related mild disabilities (11th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth,
Cengage Learning
Vygotsky,
L. S. Mind in society: The Development of
Higher Psychological Processes. M. Cole.V
John-Steiner, S.Scribner, E Souberman, (Eds.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
Walker,
A. and G. White. 2013. Technology Enhanced
language Learning: Connecting Theory and Practice . Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Wong, L.
and P. Benson.2006. ‘In service CALL education: what happens the course is
over? In P Hubbard and M. Levy. (Eds.). Teacher
Education in CALL. Amsterdam: John Benjamin: 251-264
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*Wildan Mahir Muttaqin completed MA TESL at the English and Foreign Language
(EFL) University Hyderabad, India. Born in Solo, Central Java. Graduated from
State Islamic Institute (IAIN) Surakarta, and Oregon State University,USA (English
Language Institute- Short Course Program). He has been teaching English at
State Islamic Institute of Surakarta since 2010.He can be reached at
hellowildan@gmail.com
its amazing .. (y)
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